For some strange reasons, I found myself driving out at 7.30pm to Carrefour @ Plaza Singapura. Usually if I wanted to get anything, it would have been Great World City. It felt strange to be driving out during the evening peak hour, but since I was on the opposite direction of the jam, I guess I could afford to wear that gleefuly smirk on my face.

I picked up a few cuts of beef cos they were quite cheap and also tons of dried pasta in so many shapes and sizes that I lost count. And amongst them was two huge rectangular blocks of short ribs. Initially, I hesistated. It wasn't exactly in the cut as you would see in Pioneer Woman. It was a whole slab of short ribs that is as long as your Starhub cable tv remote controller with a single bone running length-wise. But it is still short ribs, right? Function over form, no?

That explains why I had to shred it before dishing it out. A slab of the short rib would have been too much and overwhelming for one person. Not to mention that it might make your guest feel like a dog being given a bone.

The recipe came from Joy of Cooking ('97 ed.) which was quite simple, except for the browning of the short ribs prior to braising it. I hate browning! I wish there is an easier way to get it done without the drama and mess. Since the short ribs were quite sizable, I had to steal my mom's extra large WMF oven-safe casserole. I had no idea that braising in the oven is so easy. No need to worry that the braising liquid might dry up. Just chuck the pot into the oven and find a movie to keep yourself occupied for the next 2 hours. Either that, or you could be like me who spend the time cleaning up the aftermath of the browning. Or you could make yourself a big bowl of mashed potatoes to go with the short ribs.

The tender braised short ribs eaten together with the mashed potatoes, is comforting to my stomach and soul. I think I could eat this even when all my teeth are weak and falling out. Of course, don't have to wait until then to eat it.

Directions1. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat an oven-safe pot with the vegetable oil. Brown the short ribs and set aside.

2. Pour off all but 2 tbsp of fats from the pot. Add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper and dried herb. Cook until they begin to colour. Add the chicken stock and bay leaves. Bring to a boil

3. Bake, covered, until the ribs are tender and the meat pulls away easily from the bone, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Prep ahead
Although salads needs minimal cooking, it involves lots of knife-work. Slicing, dicing, chopping all take time. But as I've mentioned earlier, most ingredients of a salad can be prepared in advance, but not all. Cut avocados will turn black, apples brown, and so forth. So if you are considering these items for your salad, either wait until just before serving to dice them up or leave them out. Th…

My motivation for looking into main course salad was born out of sheer laziness. I was looking for a one-dish meal (less plates) that requires minimal cooking (less pots/pans) and packs lots of veggies as well as being filling. No skimpy wimpy diet salads for this gal.

So if I have to put this into a checklist of evaluating a salad, it would probably look like this.

Salade Nicoise has all the ticks in the check-boxes. Everything in this salad can be made ahead of time. Right down to the proteins of eggs and fish (either canned tuna or leftover grilled salmon). Now, isn't this dish time friendly?

These are the first batch of blueberry scones from our new oven.I found some leftover buttermilk from previous pancake making session and also a bit of plain yogurt sitting around in the fridge.As I have said umpteen times here that I am the least creative person in the world, I just stuck to making what I know. And what I know is that scones and muffins can be made from any sort of dairy products. So I mixed the yogurt into the buttermilk and add the mixture into the dry ingredients.Voila!Airy, crumbly and tangy scones.Arghhh … this photo doesn’t do justice to the scones. I have, erm …. somehow, misplaced my big girl camera during the move. I am quite sure it is sitting somewhere around. (I hope!)Enjoying these for breakfasts and/or tea breaks is one of the best things I like during hectic days. Especially when it is toasty and with a big cup of tea.